Emergency braking performance of motorcycle riders: skill identification in a real-life perception-action task designed for training purposes

Collisions with other vehicles represent the biggest threat to riders of powered-two-wheeler (PTW), and while emergency braking is the evasive manoeuvre most frequentlyrequired in PTW riding, many riders fail to perform it adequately due to constraints onresponse time precipitated by failures of perception, cognition and control actions.Effective rider training methods are necessary for the development of braking proficiencyin response to emergency situations.This study proposes a testing and training paradigm that exploits a closer similitude withthe real-world scenario by maintaining the natural coupling of action (vehicle manoeu-vring) and perception (higher order skill) that underlies any coordinated response to anemergency event. The aim of this study was to understand the behaviour of the riders inthe execution of emergency braking coupled with visual perception of vehicle motion asa response to an imminent collision and determine parameters that can be used to identifydifferences in skill level.Participants performed emergency braking trials in a realistic and controlled scenariousing a mock-up of an intersection conflict with a real car initiating a left turn manoeuvreacross the path of a PTW approaching from the opposite direction (Left Turn Across Path/Opposite Directions). Analysis of the deceleration patterns recorded during 12 trials perparticipant revealed that performance of braking in response to an unpredicted movinghazard differs from that in a planned self-timed hard braking. In addition, our results indi-cate that PTW rider performance may be assessed in a reliable and objective way using thecombination of vehicle kinematics and human performance measures. The study identifiedfour categories of riders classified by their level skills. Finally, an important finding was thelack of correlation of both years of riding experience and self-assessed overall riding skillwith an objective measure of emergency braking performance such as effective decelera-tion. The results of this study will support a new training approach and provide insightsfor future design of active safety systems.